Here is a summary of roles and skills deployed by CRM / ERP application software vendors / suppliers and the host customer / client project team roles
Business Analyst / Change Leader
Business information consultant
Developer
Engagement Manager
Integration Manager
Lead Solution Architect / Lead Application Consultant
Migration Manager
Project Coordinator
Project Manager
Pre-sales Consultant
Sales Consultant / Manager / Executive Account Manager
Solution Architect / Application Consultant
Technical Architect / Technical Application Consultant
Test Manager
Trainer
Business Analyst / Change Manager
The business analyst needs to have both good analytical skills and people skills. They document the “AS-IS” situation, gather the aspirations and objectives of the business and translate these into the “TO-BE” requirements through leadership and facilitation.
Business Analyst / Change Manager skills will include:
Extensive and varied business knowledge across several disciplines particularly finance
Leadership
Facilitation
Consultancy Skills
Flowcharting
Process Mapping
Clear Concise unambiguous process description
Critical Examination
Process improvement methodologies: Value Stream Mapping, Lean, Six Sigma, Theory of Constraints
Creativity
People Skills particularly listening
Envisioning
Bench Marking
Problem Solving
The business analyst’s role is difficult because they must enlist stakeholders and users support to document “AS-IS” situation and gather the “TO-BE” requirements but then robustly challenge the status quo and impossible aspiration without losing the same people's support.
Business information consultant
The business information consultant is responsible for turning the host businesses management, statutory, exception, trend and management reporting requirements into accessible efficient low maintenance solutions by exploiting the data held within the ERP / CRM application through their knowledge of business and data. Agile and scrum techniques are often used to manage business information work-streams
Skills presented by a business information consultant include:
Extensive and varied business knowledge across several disciplines particularly finance
Consultancy Skills
In-depth knowledge of the CRM / ERP application
Data warehouse design and optimisations
Master Data Management
Power BI
SQL server analytical services
SQL server integration services
SQL server reporting services
Data Visualisation
Web Design
Report Design
Problem Solving
Developer
CRM / ERP implementations usually require more than one type of developer. A developer converts the modification specification into a usable function which meets the test criteria. Application developers write modification and enhancements to the ERP/ CRM application in the software development programming language native to the application e.g. X++ in the case of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Other developers may use other languages to develop migration scripts, integrations, interfaces or business intelligence applications
Different Development types are:
Application Developers
Business Intelligence Developers
Migration Developers
Integration Developers
Interface Developers
Web Developers
Skills required for developers include:
Expertise in their chosen development language
SQL Skills
Analytical Skills
Problem Solving Skills
Attention to detail
Testing Skills
Quality adherence skills
Team working skills
Engagement Manager / Program Management Officer / Operations Manager
Software application vendors usually have an engagement manager managing their project managers to ensure compliance, consistency, and quality. Sometimes these roles are split between account management, sales, and engagement. Often the engagement manager attends along with the supplier project manager project steering meetings. Skills Required include:
People Skills
Gravitas (often dealing with the customer’s board of directors)
Expectation management
Resource planning
project administration
Drafting (license) offers
Reviewing work orders, prepared by project managers
Monitoring opportunities and providing support to Project Managers and Account Managers in the commercial process
Contract management
Monitoring internal procedures, for example creating jobs, invoicing and month end closing
project administration
Drafting (license) offers
Reviewing work orders, prepared by project managers
Monitoring opportunities and providing support to Project Managers and Account Managers in the commercial process
Contract management
Monitoring internal procedures, for example creating jobs, invoicing and month end closing
Integration Manager
Often when implementing CRM or ERP application there will be a requirement to Interface or integrate with other application already in situ; a website or Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) or product data management (PDM) applications etc. Occasionally so many integrations are required that a substantial number of work-streams are necessary which require the attention of a dedicated integration manager who will plan and manage these work-streams along with the resources, business analysts, and developers engaged on them. This planning often take the form of agile with scrums to manage the day to day objectives and progress. Project managers can elect to manage the integration work-streams themselves Skills required by integration managers include:
Extensive and varied business knowledge across several disciplines
People Skills
Project Stake Holder Management
Project Integration Management
Project Scope Management
Project Time Management
Project Cost Management
Project Quality Management
Project Human Resource Management
Project Communications Management
Project Risk Management
Project Procurement Management
Migration Management
Contract Management
Vendor Selection
Test Management
Performance Testing
Health & Safety Management
Agile Project Management Techniques
Scrum master skills
Problem Solving
Lead Solution Architect / Lead Application Consultant
ERP / CRM applications have lots of switches which enable them to be configured for different industries, different host companies and different methods of operation. Some of these switches or configurations are mutually exclusive. The role of the Lead Solution architect is to ensure that the individual solutions, business process mapped to the CRM / ERP application by the individual solution architects, work together as a whole in the integrated world of the application. The Lead Solution Architect’s skills will include:
Extensive and varied business knowledge across several disciplines
Consultancy Skills
In-depth knowledge of the CRM / ERP application
Problem Solving
Analytical Skills
Migration Manager
The migration manager is concerned with extracting the host company data from their legacy applications, transforming it by applying business rules or data changes and loading into the new target CRM / ERP application. Usually all candidate data sets are identified and listed an extraction specifications are then created for each data set. The specification will detail the currency and range of records to be selected and extracted. Similarly, transformation and load specifications are created along with data acceptance criteria. Software programmes, “often SQL scripts” are then developed against the specifications and criteria to perform the Extract, Transform, Load (ELT) processes. Sometimes the scripts for each of the data sets are daisy chained together
Agile, and scrum techniques are often used in the development of specifications, acceptance criteria, ELT programs. It is normal to repetitively test the ELT process to ensure that volumes and times are established for cutover planning. The project manager will often act as migration manager on smaller implementation projects.
Extensive and varied business knowledge across several disciplines
People Skills
Project Stake Holder Management
Project Integration Management
Project Scope Management
Project Time Management
Project Cost Management
Project Quality Management
Project Human Resource Management
Project Communications Management
Project Risk Management
Project Procurement Management
Migration Management
Contract Management
Vendor Selection
Test Management
Performance Testing
Health & Safety Management
Agile Project Management Techniques
Scrum master skills
Problem Solving
Pre-Sales Consultant
These are application consultants / solution architects who specialise in demonstrating the application software to potential customers. They also respond to the invitation to tender (ITT). They try to perform demonstrations that accentuate the application unique selling points (USP) and address what they and the sales executive perceive the potential customer’s key requirements to differentiate themselves from the competition and win the potential customers business. Skills demonstrated by pre-sales consultants include:
People Skills
Presentation Skills
Extensive and varied business knowledge across several disciplines
Consultancy Skills
In-depth knowledge of the CRM / ERP application
Problem Solving
Analytical Skills
Project Coordinator
On very large multi-site implementation projects with many users or where there are several concurrent work-streams a project coordinator is sometimes required to support the project manager. Typical tasks will include arranging meetings, minute taking, coordinating rooms and delegates for training and testing.
Project Manager
The project manager is not an application expert, but an expert in implementing projects. I would recommend that once a business recognises that an integrated ERP or CRM system is required it engages a project manager to organise the capture the “AS-IS” situation, the business aspirations and document the requirements before creating an invitation to tender, selecting a vendor, and application. Usually, project managers have lots of experience of vendor selection and contract negotiation which will prove invaluable. The project manager will require the following skills:
Leadership Skills
Extensive and varied business knowledge across several disciplines
People Skills
Project Stake Holder Management
Project Integration Management
Project Scope Management
Project Time Management
Project Cost Management
Project Quality Management
Project Human Resource Management
Project Communications Management
Project Risk Management
Project Procurement Management
Migration Management
Contract Management
Vendor Selection
Test Management
Performance Testing
Health & Safety Management
Agile Project Management Techniques
Scrum master skills
Problem Solving
Sales Consultant / Manager / Executive or Account Manager
Ideally, once you have created your requirements list and invitation to tender you will meet the software application vendor’s account manager it is their job to convince you that they are the best vendor for you and the application best meets your needs. They will orchestrate the response to the invitation to tender (ITT) and organise and manage application demonstrations and reference site visits. Once contract terms have been agreed and signed they will keep in occasional contact with you alternatively the may hand over responsibility to operations or engagement management to ensure you become a satisfied customer and referenceable implementation. The sales executive may keep in contact about licensing or again hand this over to operations or engagement management.
Sales
People
Determination
Tenacity
Presentation
Negotiating
Problem Solving
Licensing
Contract management
Solution Architect / Application Consultant
The solution architects listen to the host businesses stake-holders, project team and users and map the business requirements to the new CRM / ERP application demonstrating how the process will be accomplished. A Solution architect specialise in different modules of the application although some are all-rounders, specialisms include:
Business Intelligence Consultant
Enterprise Asset Management Consultant
Financial Consultant
Human Resource Consultant
Logistics Consultant
Marketing Consultant
Projects Consultant
Purchasing Consultant
Retail Consultant
Sales Consultant
Trade and Logistics Consultant
Warehousing Consultant
Etc.
The application consultant maps the host company’s requirement to the application confirming the FIT and identifying the GAPS. This process is called “FITGAP” analysis. At the end of the FITGAP process the host company must decide to change process to fit the application or change application to fit their process. Changing application results in the necessity to develop modifications.
Extensive and varied business knowledge across several disciplines
Consultancy Skills
In-depth application knowledge
People skills particularly listening
Problem-solving skills
Training skills
Personal chemistry is particularly important and the solution architect should demonstrate an ability to relate and get on with stakeholders and project team members
Technical Architect / Technical Application Consultant
If the ERP / CRM implementation is to be hosted on the end user customer premises “On-Prem” or in a private data centre the technical architect will specify and configure the hardware infrastructure to support the implementation. Through the life of the implementation project there will be several instances of the application required typically these may include:
Sandbox (an exploration familiarisation environment with generic demonstration data)
Development
Compilation
Migration
Test
UAT (with host business data)
Training (with host business data)
Live Operational Environment
These environments will all have different usage patterns and data volumes and will need to be operated independently of each other to avoid contention and conflict.
Server Build and Configuration
Networking
Internet Information Services (IIS)
Active Directory
Cyber Security
Database design, maintenance, and backup
Exchange Server
Virtualisation Server / Client
In-depth ERP / CRM Application Installation knowledge
In-depth ERP / CRM Application Configuration knowledge
In-depth ERP / CRM Application monitoring and tuning knowledge
The work load of the technical solution architect will vary with a period of intense activity on the initial design and install, and immediately prior and after go-live.
Test Manager
Test managers manage the testing work-streams which include unit testing, integration, performance, security and user acceptance testing. This will include managing the provision of facilities, assessing risks, defining tests and batteries of tests. Scheduling the testing activity and resource. Project managers can elect for the project coordinator to manage the test work-streams or manage them themselves. Skills required by test managers include:
Extensive and varied business knowledge across several disciplines particularly finance
Consultancy
Flowcharting
Process Mapping
Clear Concise unambiguous process description
Critical Examination
Problem Solving
Attention to Detail
Quality Adherence Skills
Risk Management
Bench Marking
Trainer
Most people recognise the experience were two different teachers or lecturers have taught them a subject or topic and realised that they found one of the teachers approach better than the other.
People skills especially empathy
Consultancy skills
Adult educations skills
Business Knowledge
Application Knowledge
Understanding of learning styles
Positivity
Supply Side Application Vendor Team Roles
Typically, the software vendor will supply the following roles to an implementation project:
Typically, the software vendor will supply the following roles to an implementation project:
Account Manager (Sales) usually part time
Engagement Manager (Compliance, Risk, Oversight, Steering) usually part time
Project Manager either part time or full time dependent upon the scale and size of project
Technical Consultant usually part time
Lead Solution Architect usually part time
Solution Architects usually part time
They would also offer Developer services to undertake development on piece by piece basis
Happy Implementing!
